Preston North End owner Trevor Hemmings has added £125m to his vast wealth in the past year, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List published today.

The 81-year-old property tycoon and race horse owner is now worth £850m putting him ninth on the regional hit list, which has been published by the newspaper every year since 1989.

Hugh Grosvenor is the richest in the north west

But the title of the richest man in the north west goes to Hugh Grosvenor, the seventh Duke of Westminster, with a fortune of £9.52bn at just 26-years-old.

The businessman and landowner, who owns the Abbeystead Estate in Lancashire, saw his value rise £170m since last year. He took over the family estate following the death of his father Gerald in August 2016.

As well as being the richest in the north west, Mr Grosvenor is one of the youngest names on The Sunday Times’ list of the 1,000 wealthiest people in Britain.

Another notable mention goes to Blackburn-based Issa brothers, Mohsin and Zuber, who have broken into the billionaire category thanks to their Euro Garages fuel distribution group - putting them at number eight on the list.

Robert Watts, who compiles The Sunday Times Rich List, said: “Our North West list is an intriguing mix of old money and new, with the head of long-running family businesses rubbing shoulders with some of the country’s most exciting new entrepreneurial talent.

“The Issa brothers’s petrol stations operation, the Arora family and the founders of the fast-growing Boohoo fashion business show how quickly fortunes can be built.

“While in the fresh-faced new Duke of Westminster - now arguably the nation’s most eligible batchelor - old money tops our Northwest Rich List. But will these new challengers catch-up the 26-year-old Duke and his family? It will be fascinating to watch.”

The full Sunday Times Rich List is set to be released this weekend.

The full list of the 20 wealthiest people in the northwest:

1 - The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family - £9.52bn - up £170m